14. Voids

14. Voids

Void records are created against properties to allow them to then be allocated in a variety of different ways.

Viewing a Void record

Existing void records can be edited from this list. New void records can only be created from the Property record.




Item
Details
Void start & end dates
The dates the property will be void. Only the void start date is mandatory
Marketing summary
Marketing text displayed when displaying an advert in the list view on the public portal
Marketing information
Marketing text displayed when viewing an advert in detail on the public portal
Advertise only
Allows the void to be advertised on the public portal but applicants cannot place bids on it
Bid warning text
Information displayed to an applicant prior to them placing a bid on the property
Exclude from bid count
If applicants are allowed a specified number of bids in a cycle, or at any one time, then bids will not be included on this property if checked
Advert badges
Important information that is displayed in badge format when viewing a property in detail on the public portal
Multi property advert
Allows a single advert to be created to represent multiple properties of the same type and size

Save the void

Close the window

Multi property adverts

A single advert can be created to represent multiple properties of the same type and size. Details of the properties are entered prior to the advert appearing on the public portal.
When advertising ends, records are created for each of the additional properties and the shortlist is duplicated across all of these new properties.

The number of properties that the advert relates to can be amended up to the point that the advert ends.

Eligibility

Any eligibility rules applied will determine who can/cannot bid for a property, or be included on a generated shortlist

If an eligibility rule is left empty then it will not be applied



Item
Details
Minimum age
The minimum Age applicants must be to be eligible for the property
Medical exemption
The Medical exemption types that are eligible for the property even if they do not meet the minimum age criteria.
Displayed when a minimum age is specified.
Maximum age
The maximum Age applicants must be to be eligible for the property
Type of applicants
The household members that the age rule applies to
Minimum & Maximum bedroom need
The range an applicant's bedroom need must fall within to be eligible
Maximum occupancy
The maximum number of people that are in an applicant's household to be eligible
Band(s)
The priority Bands that are eligible. If nothing is set all applicant's will be eligible regardless of their band
Applicant type(s)
The Applicant types that are eligible. If nothing is set all applicants will be eligible regardless of their type
Family type(s)
Only applicants with the specified Family type will be eligible
Level access
Only applicants with the specified level access requirement will be eligible
Wheelchair adaptation
Only applicants with the specified wheelchair adaptation requirement will be eligible
Sheltered
Only applicants with the specified sheltered requirement will be eligible
Ground floor/lift need
Only applicants with the specified ground floor/lift need requirement will be eligible
Local connection
Only applicants with the specified local connection will be eligible
Only confirmed local connections
Requires applicants to have the relevant local connection and it has had the Confirmed checkbox set.
Only displayed if a Local connection is selected.
Pets allowed
Only Pet owners with the specified value or no value set will be eligible

Save the void

Close the window


More information about how the eligibility and preference fields work can be found here - Eligibility and Preference criteria

Shortlist policy

The shortlist policy determines the order that applicants appear on the shortlist.

Standard policies can be selected, or if the user has the appropriate privileges, a custom shortlist policy can be created for a void.



Item

Details

Nominations required
Used to pass a number of nominated applicants through to a the landlord instead of them viewing the whole shortlist. Staff will be required to nominate specific applicants before the landlord can begin processing the shortlist. Defaults to 'Yes' when visible for all new voids

Select a policy

List of all standard policies available. Once selected the fields used in the policy and the order of priority are displayed


Displays all data fields that can be used in the policy. Fields can be turned on and off and re-ordered appropriately


Allows values within a specific rule to be ordered to provide greater priority to certain applicants


Save the void


Close the window



Adverts/Shortlists

Voids can either be advertised via Choice Based Lettings or have a shortlist automatically generated in the back office. All shortlists that have been created for the void are displayed in chronological order.



Item
Details

Add a new advertising period

Generate a shortlist automatically

Match a single applicant directly to the void

Approves the advert/shortlist generation. Only visible if users have the appropriate access

Edit the Advertising period to amend start and end dates

Delete the advertising period/shortlist

Withdraw the advert immediately

Save the void

Close the window

If there is a current advertising period, or a shortlist that contains unprocessed bids, then a new advert/shortlist cannot be created for the void

Advertising Periods

Advertising periods are defined by specifying a start date and an optional end date, through the displayed calendars. If no end date is set then the property will be advertised indefinitely.

A shortlist cannot be processed whilst the property is being advertised so all adverts need to have an end date added at some point. An advert cannot be assigned an end date earlier than the current date, meaning the shortlist cannot be processed until the following day.

When a property is being advertised the related Property and Void record cannot be amended, unless the user has been granted the relevant permission.

Deleting Periods

Advertising periods can be deleted in the following circumstances:
  1. A new period has been created but not yet saved
  2. A new period has been saved but not yet approved
  3. A new period has been approved with an advertising start date in the future, and the user has the Full Access permission for Properties: Adverts

Withdrawing Adverts

Once a property starts being advertised the period cannot be deleted, it must be withdrawn instead. An advert can be withdrawn immediately from the public portal if a user has the correct permissions.
A reason must be entered for why the advert is being withdrawn. This reason is displayed alongside the property on the public portal, in the previously advertised properties section.
Any bids placed on the advert will be withdrawn automatically. 

Generated shortlists

The system generates a shortlist that contains those 50 applicants with the highest priority according the shortlisting policy and eligibility rules that have been assigned to the void.
As well as using the standard eligibility the shortlist only contains those applicants that have the Parish of the property as one of their Areas of preference.
If the property does not have a Parish, or if an application does not have any Areas of preference set then this rule is ignored.  
The shortlist is generated by the system and is available to process after a few minutes of it being approved. It can be viewed form the Shortlist page when viewing either the Void record or the Property record.
If the shortlist has not yet finished being generated then message is displayed when viewing it. 

Direct match

The system allows an applicant with an Active Housing Register application to be matched directly to a void. Any eligibility criteria specified on the void is ignored when doing a direct match.


Item
Details
HRA Ref
Search by Housing Register Application reference number
Title
Search by Case title

Search for Active applications based on the criteria entered

Select the application to be matched to the void

Close the window

Once an applicant has been selected and the Void saved, a shortlist is created containing the applicant, ready for processing.

Nominations

Voids can be setup to require Nominations as part of the shortlisting process. This allows landlords to be given a small number of applicants from the shortlist instead of viewing the entire shortlist.
To enable Nominations the Nominations required field needs to be made visible on the Void admin form, and set to 'Yes'.
Once a shortlist has been created for this void, applicants will need to be Nominated for the property before they can be made an offer. More details on this process can be found here - 15. Shortlists.

A number of columns have been added to the Properties and Voids lists to help aid the management of Nominations and allow users to create dashboard items to manage the Nominations process.

On the Void table there is:
      Nominations required - the void requires Nominations to be created before an applicant can be offered the property
      Nominations needed - set to 'Yes' when Nominations have not yet been assigned to the void

On the Latest shortlist period table there is:
      Nominations finalised - set to 'Yes' when Nominations have been assigned and finalised so the shortlist is ready for landlords to process
      Nominations exhausted - set to 'Yes' when there are no more Nominations on the shortlist for the landlord to process and they need some more applicants
      Nominations count - the number of applicants that have been Nominated to the void

Voids list

The Voids list displays a list of all the property void records in the system.


The list can be configured to show both standard and custom fields from the Void table or information related to any of the following related areas:
  1. Property
  2. Latest shortlist period
  3. Landlord
 There are a number of special calculated fields associated with Void records that can be added to lists. Details of these fields can be found here - Appendix I - Special/calculated fields

Shortlist periods list

The Shortlist periods list, in the Additional info folder, displays all Shortlist periods that have been created against Voids.


The list can be configured to show both standard and custom fields from the Shortlist period table or information related to any of the following related areas:
  1. Property
  2. Void
  3. Landlord


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